wrong turn at Albuquerque
1
9.9
- idiom
- Informal
:
error de dirección
- After the bad investment, Tim joked that he must have made a wrong turn at Albuquerque.
Examples
-
Many people feel they've taken a wrong turn at Albuquerque when their career doesn't go as planned.
-
Don't make a wrong turn at Albuquerque like I did!
-
She blamed her failed road trip on that wrong turn at Albuquerque along the interstate.
-
That was a major wrong turn at Albuquerque for the project.
-
Taking a wrong turn at Albuquerque led him to a completely different city.
-
She realized it was a wrong turn at Albuquerque when she saw the unfamiliar scenery.
-
After the wrong turn at Albuquerque, they had to find a new route to their destination.
Synonyms
20
3.9
Choosing the wrong direction or decision causes trouble
5
4.8
To move in a clumsy, confused way without clear direction
2
5.6
A wrong action or decision that hurts progress
How Serious
176
7.0
- Informal
1
9.9
148
3.6
37
1.0
13
3.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
wrong + turn + at + Albuquerque
The component 'wrong turn' is transparently a mistaken change of direction, but the locus 'at Albuquerque' is a culture-specific reference that conventionalizes the phrase into an idiom for a major or consequential mistake. A B1 learner who knows the words will likely understand the literal sense (a mistaken turn) but not the conventionalized, culturally grounded figurative meaning without prior exposure, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Wrong turn at Albuquerque comes from a famous cartoon where Bugs Bunny often says he took a wrong turn at Albuquerque and ended up far from where he wanted to be. That clear picture of getting lost because of one wrong turn is why the phrase now means 'a big mistake or decision that sends you the wrong way'.